


Hibiscus of the Ice

by Aradellia



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Gen, I wanted to give Victor a good childhood, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-11-16 01:19:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11243301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aradellia/pseuds/Aradellia
Summary: Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1996. Fresh off the success of his new champion, former world renowned skater turned coach Yakov Feltsman has been spotted scouting out local young talent to take up in his building roster of students.Out of the favorites of the town, and the obscure skaters in the midst of both disaster and glory, he picks a single skater out of a crowd at this small amateur competition that, despite his lack of local support, ensnares them all with a single routine.





	Hibiscus of the Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dificultosa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dificultosa/gifts).



It had begun with a single event.

Victor Nikiforov was not a household name in Russia, was not known around the world as a legend of ice skating, and was not the painted playboy heartthrob the media played him as. It was in the middle of 1996 that Yakov Feltsmans, a renowned figure skater in his era and now one of the most sought out coaches in recent skating history, heard of the name Victor Nikiforov. Yakov was bouncing between cities in Russia, scouting once again as the season began to wind down, and the off-season began, when he found himself in St. Petersburg. Not far from his home rink, he entered into Ice Palace Saint Patersburg expecting to find little of interest in the novice competition happening there, a beginner's event to set apart those meant for the ice and those who shouldn't ever put on a pair of skates again. There was some stir from the entire stadium as news broke that Yakov Feltsman had come to survey and evaluate the young crop of children there for the event, and the stakes for all of them were skyrocketed. Relaxed shoulders and bored expressions turned hardened and serious, no longer simple children waiting their turn to show off their simple routines but serious competitors out for blood. Yakov took pride in knowing that no Russian would ever be anything less then serious about their skaters.

There was obvious favorites in the two events happening. For novice men singles, it was a ferocious skater named Pavel Olegovich. For novice women singles, it was a spirited but impeccable girl named Yuliya Danilovna. He kept an eye on them, noting who they were in the crowds as he watched.

"Next on the ice: Victor Nikiforov."

The stadium, once filled with laughter and applause following Olegovich's performance, went absolutely silent. The name, Victor Nikiforov, brought everyone and everything in that large stadium to its knees in absolute silence. Not a child screamed, nor a baby cried. For once, the great stadium of Saint Petersburg went as quiet as a graveyard.

While he had been moved by the uproar around the local favorites, this Nikiforov child got him interested.

Nikiforov wasn't anything intimidating, skating out on the ice to the silence with his eyes forward, focused on the ice, on the music most likely playing in his mind. Silver hair was tied back into a small ponytail set low on his head, tied in red ribbon. His outfit was simple; a black and red ensemble that bared one arm and covered the other in mesh, red ribbons tied up in patterns across his body, ending in a diamond on his neck. He rounded the ice once, and came to a standstill in the middle of the rink. He stretched his right arm out to his side, his left lay flat against his leg. He folded his right leg behind his left, closing his eyes and moving his face as to mimic looking down at the ice. Starting position taken, the few seconds awaiting the music to begin brought the silence seemingly to a breaking point.

As the [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFdhd8lly58) began its slow opening, just a few seconds of quiet buildup, Yakov leaned in to look closer. As not ten seconds had passed, and Victor threw himself into a perfect double toe loop, Yakov found himself drawn in by the sudden pace change, the quickening pace of the song pushing the young child's body to the limit as he threw his all into his balanced spins. He lacked true polish and finesse in his step sequences, and a few of his spins began to wobble at the end, but the boy could  _jump._ His ability to throw himself into his jumps and land them perfectly had ticked off Yakov immediately.

And yet through it all, the stadium stayed absolutely silent, as if entranced by Nikiforov's skating.

Nikiforov came out of his final combination spin with a flourish, his end pose putting him on one knee, one hand against the thoroughly skated on ice, the other reaching out in front of him, almost looking forlornly across the ice. The story told through the song, along with the final pose, was one of solidarity, of loss and shallow redemption. Emotive but also destructive.

The crowd that had gathered exploded with the force of a bomb, erupting into raucous applause and cheering. The young skater on the ice seemed absolutely shocked by the reactions of the crowd as they gave him a standing ovation. Nikiforov slowly skated around, taking a small worn teddy bear off the ice that had been thrown out to him, and hugged it to his chest throwing out thanks to those in the stands.

Yakov left his seat, and moved for the sidelines, eyeing the woman Nikiforov approached once he was off the ice. Once he saw her gentle red-pink eyes, he knew the woman instantly. He quietly scolded himself at not making the connection with the name Nikiforov. The woman was Yulia Nikiforova, a retired women's singles' skater. She had become known by her new style of spin that was recently approved by the ISU. He approached them, immediately drawing Yulia's eyes as he came to them.

"Coach Yakov! I had heard you were here, but I didn't... it's good to see you." Yulia greeted him, collecting her composure quickly, "What brings you to a novice competition?"

"I'm surveying, though I am also taking a moment to breathe. It is always good to see what new faces will come into competition soon."

Yulia nodded in agreement. "It is rather refreshing, isn't it? Also a little nostalgic. It's been so long since our novice years, hasn't it?"

Yakov found himself smiling, nodding as well. "Much too long. Many things have changed since then. But enough about us. I didn't think you would be coaching."

It was then that the younger Nikiforov stepped out of his mother's shadow, and revealed himself. A young child with similar hair as his mother, a beautiful silver color, and strikingly dazzling blue eyes. He offered his hand to Yakov. Yulia softly chuckles at Victor, but allows him his say.

"It's my turn to be on the ice." Victor's voice was strong, and confident, giving a childish smile after his bold announcement, "I'm ready for the challenge."

Yulia pats Victor's head, earning a small chuckle from the small boy. "I'm more of his choreographer then coach. He's honestly in need of one. I'm looking through a few but no one has had interest in Victor. I was hoping today's competition would help."

Yakov kept his smile hidden, unaware that the boy had been in search of guidance from his famous mother, a boy with talent and promise if given enough polish and work. He looks to Victor's still outstretched hand and takes it, shaking it firmly and looking the boy in the eyes. A glint of reassurance, of determination, sparkles in the boy's blue eyes. This boy, who both silenced a crowd and make it roar with frightening volume, was a diamond in the rough. Yakov would take it, polish it, cut it into the most valuable piece on the ice.

"You need not look any longer, Yulia. I have been looking to take on another student, and Victor has proven himself to me. If you would agree, I would like to train and coach him."

* * *

"Again."

Yakov watched as Victor, proudly coming back after a bad illness on the tail-end of his twelfth birthday, took himself off the ice, wiped the perspiration off his face, and returned to his starting point, determination locking his expression in place. He had been spending hours upon hours now trying to perfect his jumps, ensuring he could do them all. He had added a new jump to his roster once already this season, but after recent success in practice, Yakov was willing to allow Victor to add another despite that coming competitions that pushed the young skater a little too close to the breaking point. He believed in Victor's ability to adapt and succeed, he had that much going for him. He could be a little hot headed, and sometimes drowned himself in his work, but he got results and they were impressive.

Just a little more polish, a little more work, and Victor would be golden.

He went through his routine once more, halfway through and landing all of the normal ones so far. His new jump was next.

A young child learning a triple axel so soon. Yakov did worry that Victor would hurt himself, but Victor pushed and pushed for it. He wouldn't take a no. His mother pushed him to perfect his choreography at every step, letting up only when she could see that the constant retries were hitting harder then they should. Yakov knew that training children brought challenges, as they were young and growing and easily hurt by the constant criticism if it was out of place or too harsh. They would grew hardened skins soon, but they were still tender and in need of some leeway to grow outside of the repeats. From his left, Yulia tallied off the pieces Victor needed to practice again, constructing his next program from the ground up. While it was already approved by him, Yulia picked it apart and tested the limits, added and removed things based on Victor's strengths. This was to be his short program, it needed to have his solid strengths. His free skate is where anything new and experimental would come into play.

A flawless double toe loop, straight into his next inside spread eagle, flawlessly executing his next step sequence. Yulia called for a break, and to clean the ice. Yakov watched passively as Victor skated up to the gate, and looked to him with steeled eyes.

"You did well," Yulia first prompted, patting Victor's head lovingly as the boy smiled at his mother-turned-choreographer, "Be careful with that spread eagle. You were ready to wobble at the end."

"I know. I need to spend some time focusing on that ending, so it doesn't happen." Victor said calmly, taking the towel offered to him and wiping his neck off. He then turned to Yakov.

"I'll be ready."

Yakov found himself smiling, nodding in approval. There was respect for the boy's determination and ferocity on the ice, in training, in many aspects. He was still a child, but this child knew what must be done for success on such a field as theirs. Ice skating was demanding in many ways, and Yakov could see Victor would be willing to meet every demand no matter the stakes.

"I know you will be. Take a break, check your feet for wounds. We'll get started on the ending of that routine once you're back on the ice."

Victor smiled back, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, sir."

Unlike the others, Victor held a rooted respect for his coach, at far as Yakov could see. Yulia began rattling out different ideas for a new exhibition, as well as Victor's rising stardom in the junior's division. Victor took his spot on the bench and began unlacing his skates to check his feet, giving Yakov the chance to turn to his next student and begin his job again with a rising star. However, Yakov found himself keeping an eye on Victor even as he joked and laughed with his mother, obviously enjoying the light-hearted break.

Yakov had a feeling that his decision to pluck Victor out of obscurity was one of the best decisions he made. He would make this bright child prodigy into the brightest star on the ice, the best the world would see in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time really participating in something like this, and I had a lot of fun developing this from the prompts given to me. Victor's past is such a mystery, but I wished to give him this nice glimmer of happiness.
> 
> I hope my recipient enjoys this short screenshot into my idea of Yakov and Victor's early relationship, and I hope everyone else enjoys this as well!


End file.
